DMZ and the Future of Comics

Comics internet seems a little slow lately, don't it?

Funny, I can't really remember if there's supposed to be a lot of build-up leading into San Diego, or if they hold their cards super-close and expect the internet to go batshit after the Con. Clearly at the moment we're looking at the latter, but it's funny that so many boards and blogs are down-tuning at the same time.

Ah, well. No worries.

*****

Ooh, great scan, Zilla. DMZ is quietly becoming a favorite title of mine, and certainly my favorite stuff of Brian Wood's career. This moment was absolutely brilliant - quiet and underplayed while still tense and almost horrifying.



Also does a lot to establish how Matt's changed already. Great work.

*****

Marvel and DC solicits for October are online, and I'm really starting to get confused by David Lapham. I mean, I'm a fan of his in general, and Stray Bullets specifically is among my three or four favorite comics series ever. But his run on Detective Comics was godawful, somehow, and his Marvel work has really only been good. This month, though, we find him writing Giant-Size Wolverine #1 and kicking off an eight-issue mini with Azzarello, titled Tales of the Unexpected (with a Mignola cover!) and ostensibly exploring what happens to the Spectre in the wake of the currently-running Will Pfeifer mini.



What the hell happened to Stray Bullets? And what about that sci-fi book he was working on?

Ah, hell. I'll still be getting anything with his name on it.

Also of interest is:

• a new Gotham Central trade (collecting some of Rucka's best work on the title),
  
• The resolicited conclusion of Seven Soldiers,
  
• A shitload more titles in the WildStorm relaunch,
  
• Part two (of four) in Kurt Busiek's Astro City: The Dark Age epic kicks off,
  
• The return of Desolation Jones and a new Planetary (nice month for Ellis fans),
  
• The Other Side launches at last, and I'm psyched to see Cameron Stewart doing a Vietnam book,
  
• The Amazing Spider-Girl gets a full relaunch, which somehow I see myself giving a shot,
  
• BKV's Dr. Strange: The Oath mini launches (and may I say, I think Marcos Martin is a great choice for artist),
  
• Kirkman's Irredeemable Ant-Man finally hits, and I'm really amazed by how hard this book is to pin down ahead of time - I've got no idea what to expect.
  
• Aaaaand... Marvel's MAX line expands with Hellstorm: Son of Satan #1, written and pencilled by folks I don't know at all ("acclaimed novelist Alexander Irvine" and Russell Braun, who worked on Animal Man, which I never read), but this should be interesting.
  

Wow, that's a huge fucking month already.

*****

I saw Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest yesterday, and fuck all y'all: that movie was awesome. I wanted to write a full review but I'm sick of sitting at the computer for now, but expect some thoughts maybe over the weekend; I'm seeing it a second time, with Molly, on Friday.

Just... wow.

*****

Oh, and one little thing I wanted to share. You know those spam e-mails that have been coming around lately with these weird series of words that make no sense? (What the hell is the deal with those?)

My favorite one came in a couple days ago, with the subject line, "graduate school irreparably".

Food for thought.